I got three bracelets made last week. I bought a new belt for my tumbler and it seems to be working better now. I don’t have to tilt it on it’s side to make the barrel turn.
A blue one.
A pink one.
And a green and slate one. Yeah, I know it’s green. Just because I don’t like green doesn’t mean others think the same. Adding the slate made it easier for me.
I don’t know why I decided to make these when it’s the hottest time of the year. It takes a while to torch fire a whole bangle in the garage with no air conditioning. Especially when I have to redo one because I don’t like the way the enameling turned out. Sometimes I don’t get the enamel melted in smooth and I don’t noticed until after it’s cooled off and I pick it up and find a rough spot.
I usually use pearls where the little rock is but I ran out of rice shaped pearls so I used little drilled rocks instead for the wire bracelets. I sell these as a set because I think it’s cool to wear both together.
I bought some Laurel Burch rubber stamps eons ago and loaned them to my friend to use so she could use them to etch copper. She gave me some of the etchings. I made this simple pendant with one of them today.
I didn’t have a lot of excess copper so I couldn’t get a better shape. The copper is riveted onto a back of sterling silver and the bail is soldered on. I also added a little cab for interest.
I finished up an order for several porthole pendants. I still have one more to do, just didn’t get the end caps and button clasp made last weekend for it.
These are tough to get a good picture of since they have a glass domed cab on the top. I did all the same end caps and button clasp on all of them so I’m only going to show one since they are all the same except in different colors to match the silk ribbon.
And since I’ve never shown the back of one of these, here’s a picture of one.
I use etched copper sheets for the backs. I’ve etched a bunch of copper sheets with different designs on them to use for different projects.
I’m now stuck on leather. I’m really liking working with it. Especially the distressed leather.
This one is similar to the other two I made previously. Just used different beads. I made the glass ones in this bracelet.
This is a multi-strand bracelet with big holed pearls and sterling silver. It has a magnetic clasp.
Some key chains that I just finished up making.
When my sister was down for the holidays last year she made a bunch of porthole pendants. They have been sitting around so I finally finished them up. Gluing a image to the glass domes and putting them into the porthole pendants. That’s the easy part.
I put this one on a leather necklace because the bail just happened to fit. I have to figure out what size tubing my sister used for this as it works perfectly with this size leather.
I used silk ribbons for the necklaces on the next three pendants. I finish them with a two hole glass button and glass end caps. The two hole button acts like a slider type clasp.
The reason the end caps and button isn’t showing in this picture is because I “lost” one of the end caps before I had a chance to glue it on. I now have to remake it tonight.
Close up of the pendants.
I made these ladder bracelet for myself:
Not sure if I like the black leather with the amethyst stones but I didn’t like it with brown or natural leather either. That’s all the choices I had. I’ll wear it and if I don’t like it I’ll remake it with another color leather.
Then, a new type bracelet:
It’s a double wrap leather bracelet with drill rocks and other beads. I made it to fit my wrist and I so far, it’s pretty comfortable. I’m going to change how I do the connections from the rock piece to the leather on my next one. You didn’t think this would be the only one, did you?
I made the copper bail and riveted it to a glass bead. It’s strung on the same leather as the bracelet. The little stone is pyrite.
I started a ladder bracelet this week and never finished it. I’m finally getting tired of making them. Not that I won’t go back and revisit them later. I’m still making buttons for them and should have a good stock of them when I do get back to making them.
First up is a couple of glass pendants that I made a copper bail to hang them from.
I wish I could find bezel cups with higher sides. Just a tad bit higher would be a big help since I’m trying to hide a rivet inside the bezel cup.
I made some new beads to use for these copper bails last night.
The first one has frit and silver foil and silver glass in it. The other two are all transparent glass with a little heart.
More buttons that I made this weekend. I like making buttons….
My mom made these fabric origami boxes. Of course it wouldn’t be right not to embellish them with a glass bead or button.
Aren’t they cute?
I thought I wouldn’t have time to work on this but I forced myself. I wanted to try this idea and use it with glass pieces. For this one I used an already drilled rock that I had in my drawer. So I guess this could be considered the prototype.
Front. It’s got a lapis cab set in a bezel under a piece of copper.
Back
Our little group had a play day today and I made this solderless bezel pendant. It’s solderless because the bezel is formed by punching a circle in copper, then dapped into a bezel shape. I planned on using a glass cab but I made the bezel too large so I enameled a domed copper circle and use that instead.
Not my best work but this was all an experiment.
Mewkittie Creations 